Growing Up In Kettlesing 1971 1984

A Memory of Kettlesing.

I grew up in Kettlesing after moving there as a toddler in 1971 and leaving in 1984 but my dad remained living there until he died in 2013. I attended the village school until leaving to go to secondary school in 1980/81 and my teachers were Mrs Dunmore and Mrs Morse. I remember Geoffrey Smith the tv gardener visiting the school to give talks and a weekly visit from our recorder teacher. I have many memories of Kettlesing but the mains ones are the village school celebrating its centenary in 1976. We learnt about the schools history and who lived in the school house, all the pupils received a commemorative dish which I still have. The following year was the Queen's Silver Jubilee year and it was the first time the village started its own festival day, there were various events throughout the year to raise money and it was generally held on the 2nd bank holiday in May. My sister was one of four attendants for the 1st Felliscliffe Festival Queen and she was the festival queen a few years later. I generally joined in the fancy dress competitions and remember the first year being the theme of "red white and blue"...I was a court jester complete with bells on a hat and long pointy shoes in the required colours... it was great fun, something to look forward to and it became a regular fixture for several years. The best years were when the sun made an appearance! In a somewhat quiet village it was down to the community to make its own entertainment, village hall discos were fun for the kids and attracted other people from around the area. Two brave women started up the "Monday Club" for us kids too, unsurprisingly held on a Monday, which had a religious theme to it that I attended. I remember taking part in a play we put on, Steve Gurney and I narrated a session of mini plays set in a communist country where one of us was a Christian and other not, looking back it was quite far reaching for kids to be doing, but it took a lot of rehearsing.

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